censorship

American  

[sen-ser-ship] / ˈsɛn sərˌʃɪp /

noun

1. the act or practice of censoring.

2. the office or power of a censor.

3. the time during which a censor holds office.

4. the inhibiting and distorting activity of the Freudian censor.

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censorship British  

/ ˈsɛnsəˌʃɪp /

noun

1. a policy or programme of censoring

2. the act or system of censoring

3. psychoanal the activity of the mind in regulating impulses, etc, from the unconscious so that they are modified before reaching the conscious mind

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Other Word Forms

• anticensorship adjective
• precensorship noun
• procensorship adjective
• self-censorship noun

Etymology

Origin of censorship

First recorded in 1585–95; censor + -ship

Example Sentences

He came away impressed from an early trip to the U.S.S.R., where he said he was “the last Cerf in Russia,” but was a vocal opponent of censorship.

From The Wall Street Journal

"There were times in the past when there was complete censorship," one said.

From BBC

The X owner has previously criticised those scrutinising the app's image-editing function - particularly the UK government - calling it "any excuse for censorship".

From BBC

Third, robust communications infrastructure support so protesters can coordinate despite attempts at censorship.

From Los Angeles Times

They need technologies like Starlink to break censorship and traditional media to amplify what social media has revealed and what it can no longer transmit.

From Salon

Related Words

• ban
• blackout
• restriction
• suppression